


Some Impressions Stay

by roxashighwind



Series: The Life and Times of Kashaw Vesh; Or: Life Sucks and then You Die but Sometimes Okay Stuff Happens Inbetween [1]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-10-18 17:56:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10622118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roxashighwind/pseuds/roxashighwind
Summary: His entire body is beginning to burn, and as he opens his eyes to look at his right arm the edges of his vision start to darken and turn red.-In which Kashaw Vesh does not have a good time, but at least he's got friends?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from the lyrics of "Not Your Year" by The Weepies, which is a song I have on my Kashaw playlist.
> 
> I would like to thank [alittlerandapanda](http://alittlerandapanda.tumblr.com) for dealing with me throwing bits of this at her; she is truly the MVP of my writing right now.

His stomach drops. It drops so hard and fast and sudden that a cold shiver comes along with it and bile rises in the back of his throat. He squeezes his eyes so tightly shut that he sees bursts of color.

“Z?” he asks softly before he can stop himself, hand outstretched for his companion. Panic rises in him with the bile, stomach turning as the chill is slowly replaced with a steadily increasing heat. He keeps his eyes tightly closed and drops his hand to his side before Zahra might actually be able to touch him. The heat in his body continues to rise, a fever that should not be coming on so quickly. Kash focuses on it, and tries to pinpoint where it's originating.

His entire body is beginning to burn, and as he opens his eyes to look at his right arm the edges of his vision start to darken and turn red. The panic that he’d been fighting flares and takes hold, and Kashaw lets out a wholly undignified whine.

“A-ah… Anyone got a greater restoration prepared?” he asks as clearly as he’s able.

Pike frowns, but raises a hand. “I do.” She takes a step toward him and her hand goes to the hilt of her sword at her hip. “Kash, what’s wrong?”

Kash closes his eyes once more and focuses on breathing. “Um. No.” It doesn’t make sense, and a part of him knows that, but it’s all he’s got in answer.

“Zahra? Zahra, any chance we could get your attention over here?” Pike calls, voice pitched toward thinly veiled alarm.

He doesn’t like the way she sounds, but it matches the way he feels.

“Yes, dear?” Zahra questions back from a distance.

_Too far away, too_ **_far_ ** _,_ Kash thinks. The heat is reaching a peak, or at least he hopes it is as he feels like he’s going to burn up from the inside out starting with his right arm. In his mind’s eye the scars are slowly lighting up, glowing like freshly banked embers. _Not good,_ he thinks.

Pike takes another small step toward Kash. “Sorry to bother you, but… The glowing is bad, right?”

Kash hears Zahra gasp, muffled by her hand. He squeezes his eyes more tightly shut until the bright spots show up again.

“Cast greater restoration right now, Pike, _please_.” Zahra hurries forward. “You’ll stay right where you are, Kash,” she says firmly, intensely glad that she’d chosen to learn hold person that morning.

**_Trying to shut me out, husband?_ **

Before Zahra’s hold person spell can take effect, Kashaw pitches forward and catches himself with hands against the rough stone of the courtyard. He digs his fingers against the stone right as the spell wraps around him and holds him tightly in place. “Z…”

“Now Pike!” Zahra drops to her knees in front of Kash and carefully cups his cheeks. “Kash, Kash can you hear me? You fight her, darling. You’re stronger than she is.”

She nearly fumbles her small pouch of diamond dust in her haste to get it cast. Her symbol of Sarenrae glows as she moves forward, hand outstretched to press against the back of Kashaw’s shoulder. “I hope this works,” she says on a breath as she makes contact.

“ _No_.” Kash grits his teeth. He can’t hear her words, but he can hear her voice and knowing that she’s there… His body is burning and the image of Vesh appears in his mind’s eye, clearer than she’s been since he tried to kill her.

A competing heat swamps through his body from the back of left shoulder, radiating outward. It’s different, golden where Vesh’s heat is red, and he wraps a mental hand around it.

**_You aren’t going to get rid of me that easily, Kashaw._ **

Her figure is wild: dark hair forever caught in an unseen and unfelt wind, eyes red gashes in her face that obscure what Kash knows are surprisingly delicate bones of nose and cheekbones, lips curled in a vicious smirk. Her clothes move in the same unseen wind, dark purple and inky black gauze-like fabric obscuring the true shape of her body as it whips around her. She takes a step forward, growing larger in Kash’s mind.

Pike’s face scrunches. “It’s- it’s not working.” She can feel the heat coming off of Kash now, and as she looks him over she can see a faint glow coming from his right arm. “I’m… I’m going to cast it again.” She gives a firm nod and takes a moment to breathe deeply and center herself before she tries again.

_I’m stronger than you think. My friends..._  His head pounds as she laughs, and he forces himself to hold his ground. He grits his teeth and focuses on the feeling of Zahra’s warm hands on his cheeks.

**_Friends? Ha! As though they’re any match for m-_ ** Her derisive laughter is cut short as the golden light fills Kash from the left, the red gashes of her eyes narrowing at him in anger. **_How dare -_ **

“Let go of my friend, whatever the hell you are!” Pike growls, a low angry note in her throat, and channels every ounce of Sarenrae’s light she can muster to free Kash from whatever is causing him pain. She pushes that light as hard as she can to force the dark presence she can feel attempting to wrap around Kash to let go and back the hell off.

“Love, you fight her. You hear me, Kashaw? _Fight her_.” Zahra’s hands shake a little where they’re still cupped around the sides of the human’s face. Her stomach is in her throat, tail shifting anxiously behind her.

Pike narrows her eyes. “Let. Go.” The glow of Sarenrae’s attention is nearly blinding as Pike makes one last attempt to shove the darkness away from Kashaw.

_My friends are stronger… “THAN YOU!”_ The last is out loud, though it’s unclear if Kash meant it to be. The blistering heat in his body is gone between blinks of the eye, though he would admit to feeling a bit feverish as he shivers in its wake if pressed.

The vision of Vesh is gone, evaporated with the last flash of golden light from Pike. The landscape of Kashaw’s mind is blessedly plain, no unseen wind blowing things around and no red eyed, evil goddess trying anything.

Kash’s shout breaks Zahra’s concentration on holding him in place, and she clutches him to her as he lurches forward. “Oh Kash!”

“Is it… is it over?” Pike’s frown is no longer one of annoyance, morphing into confusion when Kash falls out from under her hand. “There’s still darkness around you but… It’s back to how it normally is.”

In a rare display of physical affection, Zahra peppers kisses across Kash’s cheeks and forehead. “Oh I thought I was going to lose you.”

Kash sinks against Zahra for a moment, reveling in the tiefling’s touch, before seeming to realize where they were and that Pike is standing right next to them. “Ah, yeah, well. I’m still here.” He pulls away and struggles for a moment before he manages to get his feet under himself and stand.

Pike grins at them and offers her hand to Zahra. “That… was a lot closer than I would have liked if I’m honest.”

The twins and Grog make their way over slowly; they’d been assisting Grog in haggling for health potions when Kash, Pike, and Zahra had lagged behind.

“Everything alright?” Vex asks, adjusting the way Fenthras rests across her back as she walks.

Zahra lets Pike pull her to her feet, brushing herself off and rearranging her hair so it falls down her back once again. “Everything’s fine, darling. Just a bit of a stumble is all.”

Grog finishes stuffing the few potions they'd managed to talk out of the merchant into the bag of holding. “Pike?” he questions, noticing her bangs sticking to her forehead.

“It’s nothing, Grog. Did you get the potions?”

Vex sighs, equal parts annoyed and resigned. “Not as many as we’d like, I'm afraid.”

“Is it ever really as many as we’d like?” asks Zahra with a wry little smile.

Vax nudges Pike when he’s close enough. “Really though: everything okay, Pickle?” he asks, voice low and only for her.

She shrugs and glances over at where Kash is adjusting his spear next to Zahra. “Seems normal enough.” She looks around and pitches her voice for the rest of the group. “Now. Are we going to pick up Percy and Keyleth and go get me initiated into the Slayer’s Take or what?”

That rouses a chuckle from the group, and they turn to continue down the road toward Victor the black powder merchant.

**Author's Note:**

> I punked out and couldn't actually let it be truly sad.


End file.
